Baba Brinkman - Fame In the Brain Lyrics

So many theories of human nature to choose from
So many competing agendas spinning illusions
So many incentives not to let the truth come
Six million ways to lie, choose one

Humans aren’t just culture-bearing blank slates
Our psychology has an innate landscape
So don’t treat a mountain range like a pancake
That’s like tryin’ to stop a bleeder with a band-aid
As a rapper I’m just tryin’ to get a fan-base
And it won’t happen if I suck like a lamprey
I’m not a scientist, baby, I just translate
So don’t trust me ‘cause I’m on a fame campaign

So how does it feel to be classed with other species
Of mammals, and find yourself with an order, family, and genus
Like bats and rhesus monkeys? If your reaction is squeamish
Remember, just ‘cause I said it, you don’t have to believe it
I said “Xenophobia can be traced back to diseases”
You could say “But I hate immigrants for good rational reasons”
Perhaps then we’ve reached an impassable disagreement
But that’s why the scientific method is genius
Ooh the scientific method, it’s the scientific method
You can try to just reject it and deny that it’s impressive
But you’ll find that it’s an excellent device to get your message
Into minds, if you consent to have your hypothesis tested
So if you find evolutionary psych just offensive
You can whine and just try to say “oh, it’s violent and it’s sexist”
And accuse evolutionists of biasing their efforts
That’s called “non-compliance with the scientific method”
You can say my information is wrong, or maybe not
Maybe my interpretation of information is wrong
But c’mon, all I’m really tryin’ to do is make some songs
I’m just tryin’ to get a whole lot of people singin’ along
Why? ‘Cause I find that when I’m thinkin’ my thoughts
And verbalizin’ them, when I say it just right they get caught
Up in your mind just like a virus, and since I was the source
You recognize me and that’s how I get the things that I want

Humans aren’t just culture-bearing blank slates
Our psychology has an innate landscape
So don’t treat a mountain range like a pancake
That’s like tryin’ to stop a bleeder with a band-aid
As a rapper I’m just tryin’ to get a fan-base
And it won’t happen if I suck like a lamprey
I’m not a scientist, baby, I just translate
So don’t trust me ‘cause I’m on a fame campaign

For me the manipulation of words is just a game
But it’s a game that’s influential in some interesting ways
‘Cause when I listen to lyricists and hear just what they’re saying
It’s like their aim is to infiltrate the filters in my brain
In a way you could say that’s the definition of “fame”
Not a physical state, just an impression that remains
Encoded as information in the conscious mental plane
A repetition of a repetition that proliferates
But the pattern of proliferation isn’t arbitrary
It’s an honorary version of Charles Darwin’s theory
Of differential replication, but with your thoughts and queries
‘Cause when people talk, notice how the uptake varies
So hip-hop songs are domesticated commentaries
That evolve by solving problems in conflict areas
They carry us along, kinda like dromedaries
Domesticated by Arabs in response to water scarcity
All these cultural variants reproduce in our minds
But our minds were designed by evolution to blind us
To the truth if lies help us reproduce and survive
That’s why falling out of love is always truly surprising
And that’s why I love rap, but I’m a student of science
‘Cause science is the only system that humans have devised
That lets us step outside of our huge thick biases
And view the world as it is unfalsified

Humans aren’t just culture-bearing blank slates
Our psychology has an innate landscape
So don’t treat a mountain range like a pancake
That’s like tryin’ to stop a bleeder with a band-aid
As a rapper I’m just tryin’ to get a fan-base
And it won’t happen if I suck like a lamprey
I’m not a scientist, baby, I just translate
So don’t trust me ‘cause I’m on a fame campaign